In the packets, did we receive anything else besides the 3 signed letters, "Transcript," and a foldout brochure? Anything about financial aid or sending in our intent to enroll form? I am afraid I might have misplaced some of the forms!

pleasepickme wrote:Does anyone know how to access the admitted students website?

Yes it's quite complicated. The instructions were sent in a two-part email on Dec. 21 if you were admitted before that. If you were admitted after that, you will probably be getting the instructions soon enough.

CoutureChiq wrote:In the packets, did we receive anything else besides the 3 signed letters, "Transcript," and a foldout brochure? Anything about financial aid or sending in our intent to enroll form? I am afraid I might have misplaced some of the forms!

Thanks!

Nope, that's all I got too! Although one of the three letters was, more or less, about financial aid. Nothing specific, though...no forms to return. Just "fill out your FAFSA", "establish residency if possible", etc etc.

JollyGreenGiant wrote:I'm conflicted. The e-mail talks about integrity and stuff about "holding a spot" until June where we need to commit.

While I'm not certain I want to go to Boalt, I certainly don't want to withdraw my application. Do I just stay put and not say anything at all?

That's what I'm doing.

That seems a bit bitchish--but I'm not sure what else to do. Whether or not I go to Berkeley is going to be dependent on money, and I get the feeling the only money Berkeley really gives is their aid matching program, so you have to wait for other schools to make an aid decision first...

duodora wrote:That seems a bit bitchish--but I'm not sure what else to do. Whether or not I go to Berkeley is going to be dependent on money, and I get the feeling the only money Berkeley really gives is their aid matching program, so you have to wait for other schools to make an aid decision first...

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong :-\

I've heard the aid matching program is sort of a sham - in the sense that they promote it but rarely actually match aid. I think they only actually match with CCN (and even then not always).

What's the deal with HYS, though. HYS don't give merit aid, but presumably Berkeley would like to swipe a few HYS admits for themselves. How can they match the nonexistent aid of one of those three schools?

duodora wrote:That seems a bit bitchish--but I'm not sure what else to do. Whether or not I go to Berkeley is going to be dependent on money, and I get the feeling the only money Berkeley really gives is their aid matching program, so you have to wait for other schools to make an aid decision first...

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong :-\

I've heard the aid matching program is sort of a sham - in the sense that they promote it but rarely actually match aid. I think they only actually match with CCN (and even then not always).

What's the deal with HYS, though. HYS don't give merit aid, but presumably Berkeley would like to swipe a few HYS admits for themselves. How can they match the nonexistent aid of one of those three schools?

Yeah. That's what I've heard too. *shrug* It's frustrating, I didn't apply to any of CCN (I'm looking for a pretty specific law program), and I have a HYS acceptance, but yeah--I'm not sure if you can use a higher acceptance to get aid out of Berkeley. Grr!

crackberry wrote:I've heard the aid matching program is sort of a sham - in the sense that they promote it but rarely actually match aid. I think they only actually match with CCN (and even then not always).

What's the deal with HYS, though. HYS don't give merit aid, but presumably Berkeley would like to swipe a few HYS admits for themselves. How can they match the nonexistent aid of one of those three schools?

Yeah. That's what I've heard too. *shrug* It's frustrating, I didn't apply to any of CCN (I'm looking for a pretty specific law program), and I have a HYS acceptance, but yeah--I'm not sure if you can use a higher acceptance to get aid out of Berkeley. Grr!

Just a quick reminder: half of the infamous tuition increases is earmarked for financial aid. I don't think anyone (at our level at least) knows whether it's all bound for LRAP or other programs, but they are at least talking about initiating or expanding other programs. This isn't to say they *will* change the way they've done business in the past. That said, I'd recommend waiting and seeing what they offer you, rather than basing life-altering decisions on what they did in the past.

duodora wrote:That seems a bit bitchish--but I'm not sure what else to do. Whether or not I go to Berkeley is going to be dependent on money, and I get the feeling the only money Berkeley really gives is their aid matching program, so you have to wait for other schools to make an aid decision first...

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong :-\

I've heard the aid matching program is sort of a sham - in the sense that they promote it but rarely actually match aid. I think they only actually match with CCN (and even then not always).

What's the deal with HYS, though. HYS don't give merit aid, but presumably Berkeley would like to swipe a few HYS admits for themselves. How can they match the nonexistent aid of one of those three schools?

They can't. However, pretty much any HYS admit who applied to Berkeley will have also applied to somewhere else (Columbia, NYU, Chicago) that gives out aid. I suppose that, once in a great while, they have a California-focused applicant who applied only to SLS and Berkeley and who was accepted by both. In those rare cases, Berkeley might offer up something if the applicant asks nicely.

crackberry wrote:I've heard the aid matching program is sort of a sham - in the sense that they promote it but rarely actually match aid. I think they only actually match with CCN (and even then not always).

What's the deal with HYS, though. HYS don't give merit aid, but presumably Berkeley would like to swipe a few HYS admits for themselves. How can they match the nonexistent aid of one of those three schools?

Yeah. That's what I've heard too. *shrug* It's frustrating, I didn't apply to any of CCN (I'm looking for a pretty specific law program), and I have a HYS acceptance, but yeah--I'm not sure if you can use a higher acceptance to get aid out of Berkeley. Grr!

Just a quick reminder: half of the infamous tuition increases is earmarked for financial aid. I don't think anyone (at our level at least) knows whether it's all bound for LRAP or other programs, but they are at least talking about initiating or expanding other programs. This isn't to say they *will* change the way they've done business in the past. That said, I'd recommend waiting and seeing what they offer you, rather than basing life-altering decisions on what they did in the past.

I strongly agree with this. Berkeley Law is effectively becoming a private school. If Berkeley wants to maintain its ranking, it's going to have to act like a private school--and that means attracting stronger applicants with merit aid. I expect that Berkeley will start doling out more merit-based aid at some point in its future. And, for selfish reasons, I hope that the future is now.

Dignan wrote:I strongly agree with this. Berkeley Law is effectively becoming a private school. If Berkeley wants to maintain its ranking, it's going to have to act like a private school--and that means attracting stronger applicants with merit aid. I expect that Berkeley will start doling out more merit-based aid at some point in its future. And, for selfish reasons, I hope that the future is now.

As do I. It would be very hard for me to turn down large MVP scholarships for Berkeley with no aid... I hope that's a decision I'm not forced to make.

I just wanted to post on here given that I just got the call from Tom today. I can't believe that I'm admitted already, (I just applied two weeks ago and went complete on Jan. 11) but I'm not asking any questions! SO EXCITED!!! My first Acceptance

Back on the subject of matching aid: that doesn't even take into account the fact that COL is so much higher in NYC than Berkeley that even if Columbia offered you $10,000/yr, you probably wouldn't get anything from Berkeley unless you're paying the out of state tuition, and even then, it'd be pretty small.

I think the best bet is Chicago unless you get a really big scholarship (70K+) from MVP. Otherwise, they'll probably send their matching money elsewhere, I'd guess.

Even if they don't match whatever scholarship I send in, I hope to petition them for in-state tuition my first year. It's something that Texas seems to do pretty often as an extra incentive, and maybe Berkeley would do the same.

There's been a lot of talk on TLS about Berkeley's fee increases, and I was curious what Berkeley's price tag is really going to look like over three years and how it compares to NYU, my other top choice. Using the cost of living, book, etc. expenses on Berkeley's website (which are for the 2009-10 school year and will likely increase), I came up with the following estimates of what I'll be paying should I attend, and assuming I get CA residency my second year:

2010-11: $74,1942011-12: $71,4332012-13: $73,779

For 2009-10, NYU's total cost is just over $70,000. I'm not sure how much that will rise over the next three years, but it seems like getting a J.D. from Berkeley or NYU would cost roughly the same amount.

However, According to Berkeley's website, "The estimated fees are contingent upon projections of competitors’ fees. Since 2007, Berkeley Law has limited its fee increases so that its resident fees will not exceed its policy benchmark of 90 percent of market rate. Thus, please note that fee levels are subject to change." The projected resident fees for 2010-11 are $44,220; 2011-12 are $49,347; and 2012-13 are $51,815. This seems like a high estimate to me...maybe we'll get lucky?

Eh, law school tuition will continue to rise until people stop paying schools like Golden Gate and Cooley for a J.D. and realize paying 40K+ a year for anything outside of Texas and UCLA isn't worthwhile.

VoidSix wrote:Back on the subject of matching aid: that doesn't even take into account the fact that COL is so much higher in NYC than Berkeley that even if Columbia offered you $10,000/yr, you probably wouldn't get anything from Berkeley unless you're paying the out of state tuition, and even then, it'd be pretty small.

I think the best bet is Chicago unless you get a really big scholarship (70K+) from MVP. Otherwise, they'll probably send their matching money elsewhere, I'd guess.

Even if they don't match whatever scholarship I send in, I hope to petition them for in-state tuition my first year. It's something that Texas seems to do pretty often as an extra incentive, and maybe Berkeley would do the same.

UC has no discretion in granting residency. It's controlled by state law. At Berk, the decision is made by the campus registrar-- not the law school-- and he's not a sympathetic individual. The only waiver of the out-of-state tuition I'm aware of is known as the AB540 waiver (named after the assembly bill number that authorized it). If you went to CA high school(s) for at least 3 years and graduated from a CA high school, your out of state fees will be waived. (Though, this waiver is contingent on regent approval every year. It's always been approved, but I'm still taking all the steps necessary to regain residency just in case!)

Edit: ...but it doesn't hurt to ask anyway! The worst they can say is no. I just wouldn't get your hopes up.

VoidSix wrote:Back on the subject of matching aid: that doesn't even take into account the fact that COL is so much higher in NYC than Berkeley that even if Columbia offered you $10,000/yr, you probably wouldn't get anything from Berkeley unless you're paying the out of state tuition, and even then, it'd be pretty small.

I think the best bet is Chicago unless you get a really big scholarship (70K+) from MVP. Otherwise, they'll probably send their matching money elsewhere, I'd guess.

Even if they don't match whatever scholarship I send in, I hope to petition them for in-state tuition my first year. It's something that Texas seems to do pretty often as an extra incentive, and maybe Berkeley would do the same.

UC has no discretion in granting residency. It's controlled by state law. At Berk, the decision is made by the campus registrar-- not the law school-- and he's not a sympathetic individual. The only waiver of the out-of-state tuition I'm aware of is known as the AB540 waiver (named after the assembly bill number that authorized it). If you went to CA high school(s) for at least 3 years and graduated from a CA high school, your out of state fees will be waived. (Though, this waiver is contingent on regent approval every year. It's always been approved, but I'm still taking all the steps necessary to regain residency just in case!)

Edit: ...but it doesn't hurt to ask anyway! The worst they can say is no. I just wouldn't get your hopes up.

That's not really what I meant. I just meant like a one year scholarship that is equivalent to the difference between resident and non-resident tuition. Texas often does it for their applicants. I realize they don't control residency, but they might be willing to give me 15K for one year or something like that in order for me to attend.

I just wanted to post on here given that I just got the call from Tom today. I can't believe that I'm admitted already, (I just applied two weeks ago and went complete on Jan. 11) but I'm not asking any questions! SO EXCITED!!! My first Acceptance